Introducing something new: 'there' as subject

Introducing something new: 'there' as subject

46 When you want to say that something exists, or when you want to mention the presence of something, you can use 'there' followed by 'be' and a noun group.

This structure is used in English because finite verbs must have a subject.

But something new cannot be talked about until it has been introduced. So 'there' is used as the subject of the sentence and the new information is introduced after 'be'.

This use is different from the adverb of place 'there' and does not refer to a place. In spoken English, the difference is often clearer, because this use of 'there' is often pronounced without stress as / / whereas the adverb of place is almost always pronounced fully as /

'There' has very little meaning in the structures that are being explained here. For example, the sentence 'There is a good reason for this' just means 'A good reason for this exists'.

47 The noun group is usually followed by an adjunct, a 'wh'-clause, or one of the adjectives 'available', 'present', or 'free'.

There were thirty boys in the class.

There are three reasons why we should support this action.

There were no other jobs available.

Adjuncts of place can be put either in front of 'there' or after the noun group.

On a marble-topped table there was a big white china mug.

There was a long field on one side of the filling station.

48 You can also use 'there' followed by 'be' and a noun group referring to an event to say that something happened or will happen.

There was a knock at his door.

There were two general elections that year.

There will be bloodshed tonight.

49 When you are describing a scene or situation, you can use a structure consisting of 'there' followed by 'be', a noun group, and a present participle.

For example, instead of saying 'Flames were coming out of it', you can say 'There were flames coming out of it'.

There was a monsoon raging outside.

There were men and women working in the fields with horses.

There was a revolver lying there.

50 Usually a plural form of 'be' is used if the noun group after it is plural.

There were two men in the room.

You use a singular form of 'be' when you are giving a list of items and the first noun in the list is singular or uncountable.

There was a sofa and two chairs.

There is grief in his face and reproach at the injustice of it all.

Note that you use a plural form of 'be' in front of plural quantifiers beginning with 'a', such as 'a number of', 'a lot of', and 'a few of'.

There were a lot of people camped there.

You also use a plural form of 'be' in front of numbers beginning with 'a', such as 'a hundred', 'a thousand', and 'a dozen'.

There were a dozen reason why a man might hurry from a bar.

51 In spoken and informal written English 'there is' and 'there has' are often contracted to 'there's', 'there had' and 'there would' to 'there'd', and 'there will' to 'there'll'.

There's no danger.

I didn't even know there'd been a murder.

'there' with adjectives   52 'There' is also used with adjectives such as 'likely', 'unlikely', 'sure', and 'certain' to indicate the likelihood of something occurring.

There are unlikely to be any problems with the timetable.

'there' with other verbs 53 A few other verbs can be used after 'there' in a similar way to 'be'. If you want to say that something seems to be the case or that something seems to have happened, you can use 'there' with 'seem' or 'appear' followed by 'to be' or 'to have been'.

There seems to have been some carelessness recently.

There appears to be a vast amount of confusion on this point.

'To be' is sometimes omitted, especially in front of an uncount noon.

There seems little doubt that he was insane.

'There' is sometimes used followed by a passive form of a reporting verb and the infinitive 'to be' to indicate that people say of think that something exists. For more information on reporting verbs, see the section beginning at paragraph

There is expected to be an announcement about the proposed building next month.

There is understood to be no suggestion of either doctor being involved in financial gain front the transaction.

'Happen' is used in the same kind of structure to indicate that a situation exists by chance.

There happened to be a roll of nylon tubing lying on the desk.

You can also use 'tend' in this kind of structure to say that something generally happens or exists.

There tend to be overlapping networks of Mums who have each other's children round to play.

formal and literary uses 54 'Exist', 'remain', 'arise', 'follow', and 'come' can be used after 'there' to say that something exists or happens. These structures only occur in formal English or literary writing.

There remained the matter of Cranston.

There followed a great flood of indignation in the newspapers.

There comes a time when you have to make a choice.

55 Another construction commonly used in literary writing is to begin a sentence with an adjunct of place followed by 'there' and a verb of position of motion.

For example, instead of saying 'The old church stands at the top of the hill', a writer might say 'At the top of the hill there stands the old church'.

From his hands there dangles a shiny new briefcase.

Beside them there curls up a twist of blue smoke.